Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day to all of the wonderful fathers out there!  I hope you all know how much you are appreciated and loved on this day and throughout the year.  In particular, I want to tell my dad, Mark, how much he is appreciated and loved (a lot).  I tell him that I love him often, but I can’t remember the last time I told him why.  Well, Dad, this is for you:

I love my dad because…

… he has a random, funny song for every occasion.

…he can fix anything.

…he can open even the toughest jar with his bare hands.

…he always knows how to make me laugh.

…he (very patiently) taught me how to solve algebraic equations and drive a standard.

…he always told me that I was pretty (even when I most definitely wasn’t).

…he looks tough, but he’s really just a big softy with a huge heart.

…he gave up a career in business to become a teacher and spend more time with our family.

…his positive influence in my life prepared me to find (and have a healthy relationship with) my husband.

…he always supported and encouraged me and my brother in all of our endeavors and never pushed us into activities or goals that weren’t right for us.  (His Aggie self didn’t even complain when both of his children wound up at UT.)

…he tells me that he’s proud of me.

…he is always there for me when I need him.

I love you, Dad!

(Obviously, I did not take the above picture.  Our fabulous wedding photographer, Shannon Cunningham, did.)


Much love,
Adrienne

Scenes from Greece

I’ve been dying to travel to Greece for the past 5 years and was finally able to fulfill that dream last month.  It was wonderful and beautiful and delicious and amazing.  (See photographic evidence below.)  However, I have a confession…  And, it’s an embarrassing one.  The main reason Greece has been on my must-visit list for years is because of a teenage chick-flick called The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  I was 24 and way too old for such nonsense when that movie came out, but I’m a sucker for girly movies, so I saw it anyways.  I didn’t love the movie, but I fell head-over-heels in love with the Greece that Alexis Bledel’s character visited.  That Greece is Santorini.  Garrod and I traveled to Greece with my cousin, Lauren, and her husband, Ben (together, they are affectionately known as LaurBen due in part to their “joint” twitter account).  We spent 3 days in Athens and 5 days in Santorini.  The people were friendly, the views were spectacular, and the food was scrumptious.  Scrumptious, I tell you!

First, here are a few images from Athens.

The Parthenon:

The Parthenon - Athens, Greece

Garrod and me at the Acropolis:

The Acropolis - Athens, Greece

Accordian-playing boy (with moustache):

Accordian boy - Athens, Greece

And now for beautiful Santorini:

Santorini, Greece

The rooftop of our villa in Exo Gonia, Santorini:

Exo Gonia Villa

Picturesque cliffs of Oia, Santorini:

Oia Santorini Cliff

LaurBen, dining at Kastro restaurant in Oia:

Kastro Restaurant in Oia, Santorini

A cloudy, but beautiful sunset in Oia, Santorini:

Sunset in Oia, Santorini

The awesome black sand Perissa beach in Santorini (along with some cool flowers from our rooftop balcony):

Perissa Beach & Santorini flora

For a more thorough selection of photos (and a little history lesson), check out Garrod’s Picassa album. He was also very good about documenting the aforementioned scrumptious food.

I’ve got tons of photo sessions to blog, a senior model program to unveil, and a new boudoir website to launch, so stay tuned!

much love,
Adrienne

Liz & Brad – Austin Engagement Photographer

I met Liz about two and a half years ago when we were both working at The University of Texas.  Liz is one of those girls that you don’t really want to like because she’s a tall, pretty blonde with a Masters degree and an impeccable sense of style.  (You know… one of those girls.)  But here’s the thing…  Liz is also thoughtful and kind and fun to be around.  You can’t not like her.  This is why, when her path crossed that of the equally kind, fun, and handsome Brad, they couldn’t help but fall in love.  I truly believe these two were meant to be together and I am so happy that they found each other.

Liz & Brad – Thank you so much for asking me to take your engagement photos.  You guys rock and I can’t wait to help celebrate at your wedding in August!

love,
Adrienne

Making Progress – Austin Portrait Photographer

Welcome back!  I decided it was time for some spring cleaning on the ol’ blog, so I’ve switched things up a bit (thanks to my fantastic husband, Garrod).  It’s still a work in progress, but I hope you like the new look.

As you may have noticed, the tackling of my 2010 goals is off to a slow start.  I accomplished goal #1 (call a CPA – GO ME!) and goal #5 (pick a name for my boudoir business, which is soon to be announced).  And, I’m getting super close to accomplishing goal #4 (launch a separate boudoir blog).

I’m doing a little better on goal #10 (eat more vegetables).  I’ve actually been eating a pescatarian diet for the past two months, much to Garrod’s chagrin. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the varying degrees of vegetarianism, a “pescatarian” is someone who abstains from eating meat with the exception of fish.     I admit, I am a bit of a softy when it comes to animals and the movie Food, Inc. really had an impact on me.   However, my health is the primary impetus behind my dietary change of heart.   I’ve always had high cholesterol (despite a pretty low-fat diet) and for the past couple of years I’ve felt like the food I eat could have something to do with the fact that more often than not, I feel tired and unfocused.  So, I’m giving the “no meat” thing a try.  Maybe it will make a difference or maybe it won’t, but at least I tried something.

The rest of my goals are just lying there… unaccomplished… taunting me.  Maybe when the cow remnants are completely out of my system, I’ll be able to really focus and start getting things done. ;)

The blogging goal is obviously off to a very rough start.  The “watch less TV” goal has imploded.  In the last month, I actually managed to ADD a show to my list of must-see TV.  (That show is Dexter.  Check it out.  It’s fan-freakin-tastic.  But, you must start with Season 1, Episode 1.)

One of my 2010 goals that I didn’t include on the original list is to sell our condo.  We love living near downtown Austin, but it’s time to find a place with more room and a yard for our dog, Maddy.  Our condo went on the market a couple of weeks ago, so keep your fingers crossed that it will sell quickly.  In an effort to play up the “how cool would it be to live on South Congress” angle, I took photos of some of the fun restaurants/bars/shops within walking distance and framed 8×10 prints to hang in our condo.  Here are a few of the shots as well as the final product on our living room wall.

Be sure to check back on Thursday for an engagement photo post of a GORGEOUS (and fun and smart and kind) couple, Liz & Brad.

As always, thanks for stopping by and please let me know what you think in the comment section.  I will love you forever.  For real.

love,
Adrienne

What I Like Wednesday – Volume III

For this better-late-than-never edition of What I Like Wednesday, I’m going to share some of my favorite blogs.  I spend WAY too much time reading other people’s blogs when I should be blogging myself.  It would really make me feel better if I could share this blog-obsessed burden with someone else, hence this post.  While this list is by no means exhaustive (I mean come on, we don’t have THAT much time!), it is a nice little sampling of some of my favorites from different blogging genres.

1)       The Pioneer Woman – Witty, fun, educational, and mouth-watering.  Ree Drummond (aka Pioneer Woman) is a self-proclaimed “spoiled city girl” turned “domestic country wife” whose days are “spent wrangling children, chipping dried manure from boots, washing jeans, and frying calf nuts.”  Ree posts fabulous recipes, photography tips, tales from her life on a cattle ranch, and one of the most romantical stories I’ve ever read.  :)

2)      Garance Dore – Charming, gorgeous, inspiring, light-hearted, and hilarious.  Garance Dore is an incredibly talented illustrator, photographer, fashionista, and blogger based in Paris.  Visit Garance’s blog if you want to see what’s en vogue right this second in fashion, if you want to be inspired by lovely photos and illustrations, or if you want to have a hearty chuckle at her always-comical internal dialogue.

3)      Jasmine Star – Yes, yes, I’ve mentioned Jasmine’s blog before and maybe you’re a little tired of hearing about her, but there’s a reason I keep going back to this blog.  Not only does Jasmine update her blog very regularly with stunning photos of amazing weddings and couples in love, but her fun, self-deprecating writing style is refreshingly honest.  In just a few short years, she has become one of the most respected photographers in the wedding industry and that is due in no small part to her blog and her ability to utilize social networking to the fullest.   I seriously need to take some blogging cues from this girl.

4)      PoshDeluxe – Quirky, girly, laugh-out-loud funny, good times.  Sarah (aka Posh, aka Posh Pants, aka PoshDeluxe) is the Austin-based friend of a friend who blogs about normal everyday stuff like movies, books, food, travel, and friends, but her writing style is so unique and fun that you can’t help but get sucked in and wish she was your best friend and you could have slumber parties and talk about cute boys and braid each other’s hair.

5)      Kuperblog – Unique, stunning, unique and stunning.  Those are the words I would use to describe the work of photographer Anna Kuperberg.   She has such an amazing eye for composition and produces some of the most unusually gorgeous photographs I’ve ever seen.  No two images on her blog are the same.  No other photographer does exactly what she does.  This is where I go when I need some visual inspiration to be different and daring in my photography.

I hope you’ll check out a few of these blogs and let me know what you think!  (P.S. Please leave me comments!  They make me so happy!)

And now for my requisite visual offering…  I’ve been in baby photographing mode lately, so here are a couple of the lovely and adorable, Scarlett, who was born December 28th.

Much love,
Adrienne